Water Birth Gone Horribly Wrong Results in the Biggest Malpractice Lawsuit in a Decade

While most water births are successful, they can also be risky, according to American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists — a fact that one Oregon mom can certainly attest to after tragedy struck during her own water birth in December 2011.

Amy Benton was told by midwives at the Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland, OR, that she was an ideal candidate for a water birth. In fact, Rich Rogers, the attorney who represents the Benton family, told Oregon Live that Benton was advised "that [a water birth] is just as safe and even more safe [than traditional vaginal or C-section births]."

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But according to court documents, Benton was not a good candidate for a water birth, because her pregnancy wasn't considered low risk. Despite the fact that her child's fetal heart rate was abnormal when she was admitted to the hospital, the midwives proceeded with the birthing plan, submerging Benton in the tub and failing to continuously monitor the fetal heart rate or consult obstetricians, according to Rogers. The Benton family's lawyers maintain that if the midwives had regularly monitored the baby with a waterproof device like a Sonicaid, they would have realized sooner that there was a problem with the fetus' heart rate and that mom needed to deliver via C-section immediately — not push. Instead, Benton's son, Luca, was delivered vaginally and deprived of oxygen for 15 minutes.

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"The baby they pulled out appeared for all intents and purposes, dead," Rogers told Oregon Live.

All that time under water with no vital checks caused severe brain damage — now 4 years old, Luca lives with birth-induced cerebral palsy and can't walk or talk. Luca's parents were awarded $13 million after initially seeking damages upwards of $36 million; the settlement is reportedly the largest in at least a decade for a hospital malpractice case.

In response to this sad story, the American College of Nurse Midwives and the American Association of Birth Centers issued a joint statement saying that they believe water births are a safe alternative for expectant mothers, according to Oregon Live.

"Yes, a water birth can be a safe option for some women, but a woman should be an ideal candidate and [it seems Amy Benton] was not cleared as low risk," Dr. Lindsay Appel, an OB/GYN at Mercy Medical Center tells WomansDay.com. "Water births should not be performed for women with any complications in pregnancy." And while some women opt for water births at home, Dr. Appel is not on board. "Labor courses can be unpredictable and fetal distress can occur rapidly in certain situations, even in women who have uncomplicated pregnancies," she says. "Having access to an anesthesiologist, an operating room, and postpartum medications is of utmost importance. It is possible for a patient to have a natural labor with minimal interventions while in the hospital, but if the need for intervention arises the patient is safest in a hospital setting."

In a 2014 statement, the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecologists said that there are currently no known benefits to delivering a baby in water.